Opening tins and other containers



June 20, 1944. B. JOHNSEN 2,351,971

OPENING TINS AND OTHER CONTAINERS I I .Filed Jan. 3. 1941 y ,fiurenbrn: 8/2 GEE. JOH/VSEN Patented June 20, 1944 OPENING TINS AND OTHER CONTAINERS Birger Johnsen, Sandnes, near Stavanger, Nor-' way; vested in the Alien Property Custodian Application January 3, 1941, Serial No. 373,033 In Norway August 25, 1939 2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improvements in tin or other containers of the type in which the lid is attached to the container by a seam and wherein the seam is provided with a ripping tab, the pulling of which rips away a portion of the seam along the edge of said lid, whereby the lid is freed for complete removal from the container, the primary object of the invention being to provide improvements in such tins or the like containers, whereby the sealing of the lid on the tin is more secure, and opening of the tin is rendered more easy, certain, and reliable.

According to this invention the strip to be rolled up or ripped away during the opening operation is U-shaped in cross section, and comprises both the outer part of the seam or outer element of the double lid flange, and the inner element of the double lid flange, the ripping strip thereby being two-ply and, as a result, strong enough to eliminate any likelihood of breaking or tearing during an opening operation, as commonly happens with single-ply strips.

An exemplary arrangement according to the invention is shown in the drawing, wherein,

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a lid before it has been seamed to the container; Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the completed container, partly broken away to show the construction of the seam, and; Figure 3 is a side elevational view of the container, showing the opening strip partly ripped by means of a key.

The lid is attached to the container by a double seam and is provided with a slanting ripping tab M, which is integral with the U- shaped flange of the lid and projects from the outer flange element l2. The container is opened by drawing on the tab l4 so as to rip away a narrow strip of material along the outer flange element I2 and pull out of the seam the inner element of the U-shaped lid flange. The ripping line of this strip is defined by a weakened line I3, which line also defines the upper edge of the ripping tab M, which is an angularly deflected continuation of the ripping line.

During the opening operation, the seamed in element of the double lid flange is forced to break out of the seam and come away with the ripped away portion of the outer element l2 as the latter is ripped away, and the two elements then form a two-ply member which winds on the opening key l5, ofiering much greater resistance to breaking and tearing than a singleply member, and freeing the lid more completely from the container.

I claim:

1. In a container of the type described, a container body the upper edge of the side wall of which has a reverted flange, a lid for the container having a U-shaped rim, said U-shaped rim having an angularly depending integral ripping tab, the arms of the rim receiving the reverted flange of the container and being clamped thereagainst, the outer arm of the rim being connected to said lid. by a weakened line, said weakened line extending diagonally across the rim, the upper edge of said tab forming a continuation of the said diagonal weakened line and providing means by which the rim may be engaged and ripped from the lid.

2. A container comprising, a container body, a lid, and a seam securing the lid on the body, said seam comprising a reverted flange on the open or upper end of the container body, a depending U-shaped flange on the lid composed of an inner flange element disposed between the side of the container body and the reverted flange thereon, an outer flange element disposed outwardly of said reverted flange and a portion connecting the lower ends of the inner and outer flange elements, said outer flange element having a declining ripping tab integral therewith, and depending below the lid flange, said outer flange element being provided with a weakened line extending substantially completely therearound, said weakened line including a declining portion running substantially through the lower edge of said outer flange element and forming substantially a continuation of the upper edge of said ripping tab.

BIRGER J OHNSEN. 

